Girl With Wings
by gurljewel
Summary: A girl from this time and place gets swept up into Tamora Pierce's magical world of timeless characters and never-ending adventures. (Don't worry it is now formatted,LOL) Read and Review! Thanks!
1. Prolouge

Prologue

            "Ugh, I hate airports!" mumbled Jen as she stood in line to get on board. "They are always so crowed." 

Jen was an average 17 year old and was on her way back home to Virginia after a trip in Mexico. She had medium brown hair that was naturally wavy and was cut a couple inches bellow the shoulder. She had huge, almond shaped green eyes and many bags which she carried with her, for she didn't trust the baggage crew. 

            After she loaded her things on to the plane, Jen found her seat. It was next to a mid-aged woman, who looked tired and careworn. Jen sat down. "Hello," the woman said with a friendly tone. "My name is Tamora Pierce." 

            "Hello," Jen returned, yet not as friendly. They sat in silence until the plane lifted off the ground and into the sky. Ms. Pierce had brought a notebook with her and was writing continuously. Curious Jen asked, "What are you writing about?"

            "Oh, I am an author. I write children's stories about a magical land called Tortall and all the people in it. I have 3 quartets currently and I am working on my 4th."

            "That sounds interesting," Jen remarked sarcastically.

            "Oh, but it is! Here, let me give you this book." Ms. Pierce started groping around in her carry on bag.

            "No, no I am fine." Jen said.

            "Here." Ms. Pierce gave her, what looked like, and old book with a brown cover and broken binding.

            "What is it?" Jen asked.

            "Open it," was all Ms. Pierce said.

            Jen looked at Ms. Pierce and back at the book. _How harmless can it be?_ She asked herself. _It is just a book. Why does this lady want me to read it in the first place? Oh, well. _

            "One will never find out unless one opens it." Ms. Pierce said as if reading her thoughts. Gently, Jen lifted the cover of the big book. All of a sudden light streamed out and enclosed her. It pulled her, as much as she fought, into the book.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

            BAMM! Jen hit solid ground and saw as her bags fell down around her. "What the...?" she said in complete confusion and frustration. She groped around to pick up her bags. "Where am I?" she asked herself.

            All around her was open green space with trees and flowers. Some horses were grazing near by and weren't too alarmed about seeing her. In the distance, on top of a hill, stood a huge castle and all around it encompassed a village. 

            Jen stood up and started walking toward the village, still completely lost as to where she was. When she came to the gates, a tall, burly guard stopped her. He had cold eyes and a manly way of carrying himself "Who are you and what means do you have entering this city?" he asked, eyeing her strangely. He had a deep voice that was heavily accented.

            "You call this a city? Ha! I have seen towns that could put this place in the dust."

            "Is that a threat?"

            "No, I just wish to know where I am and the direction to the nearest payphone, please."

            "You are in the city of Corus in the realms of Tortall, under the reign of King Jonathon of Conte. I do not know what a "payphone" is, sorry. Where are you from?"

            _Where have I heard of Tortall before? The name sounds familiar. Also these __people don't have a payphone?! What's up with that? "I am from America." She said. "And I wish to go home!"_

            "I have heard of no America." 

            "Well then I must talk to your king, maybe he knows where on earth it is."

            "You may not talk to the king unless you have something of importance to say."

            "But, I do! I have to get back home to my family and friends. I have so much to do with up coming exams and all! Listen, have you heard of planet earth and the 21st century?"

            "No."

            Suddenly it hit her. Tortall was the name of the realm that Ms. Pierce wrote about in her books. She remembered the book and the airplane and the light.

            "Please, I have a very important problem to address to your king. I need to see him right away! You don't understand!"

            "Alright, because you look, act, and talk of things differently, I think that you may see him. Follow me."

            "Thank you."

            The guard led her to a stable inside Corus and pulled out a brown bay horse. "Here, you ride this one. His name is Chubby." The guard said.

            "But I have never ridden before." 

            "Ha ha!" the guard laughed merrily, plainly amused by her remark.

            Jen used all her might and pulled herself up onto the horse just like she saw in all of those old western movies. The guard had also gotten himself up onto another horse, this time black. He rode in front of her, out into the heart of the city. She rode stiffly and hung on for dear life as the horse twisted in and out of many peoples and markets. This place was full of colors and the people dressed so weird. _Haven't these people heard of fashion?_ She asked herself. All the men wore plain tunics and breeches while women wore dresses and aprons. Some darker men wore robes of white and turbans. They sold everything you could imagine, pots, pans, cloth, wood, tools. It was a mass of shouting people that were so loud that you couldn't even hear your own voice. 

            The city drifted away slowly and the people's voices became quieter. All this time she hadn't been noticed at all for people were so busy working their way through the mad traffic. But now that things started to slow down, people started noticing her and her weird clothes and bags. She tried to ignore them but they all had this strange aura that drew her attention.  

            A man came up behind her and kicked Chubby so hard that he reared and Jen flew off into the road. The man grabbed her purse and ran off. Anger filled her as she got up and ran with all her might after the thief. She had been the star of her track team and was not about to let this guy get away with all of her most important possessions. The guard had gotten the horse under control and ran after her with both reins in his hands. She chased the man, gaining on him and quickly followed him into an alley. There was a dead end and he turned around to face her. She looked at him with revenge in her eyes and yelled "Give me back my purse you wretched thief!" 

            He looked around him, clearly seeing that he was trapped, pulled out a knife. He advanced on her and she moved back. She had no weapons or way of defending herself. What was she to do? Suddenly and idea came into her mind. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her camera. "Say cheese!" she said. Jen pressed the button and a flash shot out and blinded the thief. Jen grabbed her bag and ran as fast as she could. The thief recovered quickly and clumsily chased after her. By that time the guard had showed up and had his sword unsheathed. Jen rushed behind the horses and the guard stopped the thief. "Old Gunny Fish, we have been looking for you." The guard said with a sly smile. Other guards came around and grabbed Fish's legs and arms. 

            "Well done," he told Jen.

            "Well done, I almost got killed!"

            "This is the life in a city."

            "Ugh. By the way what did you say your name was?"

            "I didn't and I am not."

            "Well, someone is in need of some people skills." She mumbled.

             The rest of the ride to the castle was in silence. When they finally reached the castle gate the guard said "Wait here!" 

            "What else am I supposed to do?" she said sarcastically.

            For nearly a half an hour she waited until the guard came back.

            "Well?" she asked him.

            "Well?" he replied.

            "I have waited here for nearly an half an hour and all I get is well!"

            "Look, the King will see you. Just let me bring your horse to the stable and get your bags unloaded."

            "Unloaded where?" 

            "In the stable until further notice. Look, all you have to do is go inside the big doors, take two lefts and a right and you are there."

            "Thank you."

            Jen went through the stables to a big wooden door. _This must be it. _She thought to herself. The guards opened the door and she found herself in a large hallway. She took a left and then another left and then a right. There were another set of big wooden doors. _Just stay calm and you will be alright. Remember, this is just a story. The king will help you and get you back home, I hope. Just relax. It can't be any worse then talking to Opera or President Bush. Plus he isn't my king and I don't have to obey him, right? Oh, I hope I get through this alive! She clamped her sweaty palms together for support. The guards opened the big wooden doors and she stepped inside. _

*****

            The room was lit with bright torches that filled it with warmth and welcome. A red carpet laid way to a velvet throne, unto which a handsome man sat, with coal black hair and beard as well as sapphire blue eyes. To his right sat, to Jen, the most beautiful looking woman in the world. She had full red lips on ivory skin with long curly black hair. Five others, three boys and two girls, one being pregnant, stood next to the woman. They too had coal black hair and were both attractive, in their own way. They looked about the same age as her, maybe older. On top of that was a woman with short red hair and startling purple eyes. It reminded Jen of color contacts, but that was impossible, to have colored contacts in this age. She had a shield and looked like a knight or someone of importance. There were few other people, besides the guards, and they all looked at her intently, waiting for her to speak. 

            _Oh great. Jen thought in dismay. __A public speech! I hate speaking in public. But, these people deserve to know why I grace them with my presence. Plus they may be able to..._

"I understand that you are a stranger to my court and have something of interest to tell me, on your behalf." The King interrupted. "Please come closer."

            Jen started walking up the red carpet and stopped just before the king.

            "Sir, I come from a different land and I wish to go back."

            "And what is the name of your land?" the king asked.

            "America, on planet earth, in the 21st century, sir."

            "I have never heard of those things. Please, explain to us how you got here."

            "Ok, but I am not a good public speaker so I ask that you make no interruptions, please."

            The king smiled and said, "Go on."

            "Well, back in my land, I was flying in an airplane, which is kind of like a metal bird that holds people inside and flies to different places on my planet. Anyway, I was heading back home, when I sat next to a woman by the name of Tamora Pierce. She is the creator of your land. You see she creates your land by writing books on it and about your people. She also creates your fate and the fate of your people. She gave me this book and told me to open it. I did and I ended up here with all my belongings. The rest you probably heard from the guard."

            "Yes, Leo did tell us the rest of what happened when you showed up at the gates of Corus. I also want to thank you for the capture of the ruthless thief Gunny Fish. Your use of weapons was extraordinary. Leo also told me that you ran as fast as lightning." 

            "Well, I don't know if it was lightning or not, but I was mad. I also didn't use a weapon, but a camera that takes pictures. It uses light and startled the man I think, long enough for me to get my possessions back."

"You will have to tell me more about this camera later." The king said. "Tell me, this Tamora Pierce, is she a goddess? Should we pay homage to her? And if she is a god and you live with her, are you a goddess?"

            "Ummmm….no, she is not a goddess and you don't have to pay homage to her. She is just your creator of your land and your lives, your fate as well. I am not a goddess either. To me, I am just in a story book."

            "Yes, well I see. But this place is very real, you must understand." The king replied.

            "On the inside it is, but on the outside it is just a book." Jen said, but then she saw the confused look in the king's eyes and thought better of it. "But that is not the case here. I need to get back home to my family."

            "I am afraid that I do not know how to get you back home. But, I will see all that I can do to call for help from some of the mages and maybe even look into the Dominion Jewel," said the king.

            "What?" Jen asked.

            "I can tell that you know just as little about us, than we know about you. Well, there is little time for explanations if I am to start contacting people. What is your name?"

            "Jennifer Cromwell. You can call me Jen. How may I address you?"

            "Jonathon or Jon, as you know I am the king and to my right is my queen, Thyat. These are my children, Prince Roald and his wife Princess Shinkokami who will take my throne in a period of 3 years, Prince Jasson, and Princess Lianne. I have another daughter named Kalaslin but she is in Carthak with her husband, Emperor Kaddar and my son Liam is traveling with his Shang masters. Buri is Thyat's right hand lady. Alanna here is my Champion, my first knight. Her husband is Baron George of Pirate's Swoop, he stands beside her."  

            "Thank you and I will try to remember everybody."

            "Tell me, dear, do you have a place to stay?" asked Thyat

            "Well no." Jen replied.

            "Well then you must stay with us here in the palace. We will prepare a room for you." 

            "Thank you, Thyat."

            "I will show her to her room, mother." Replied Lianne. She walked down to Jen and smiled. 

            Jen and Lianne went outside of the room and to a bright corridor. 

            "This is where we sleep, and since you are our royal guest, you will sleep here too." Lianne said happily. "It is so good to have another girl my age in the castle, you know. You are 17, are you not?"

            "Yes I am."

            "Wonderful! Listen, if you want I can show you around the palace and around the city. Since you will be here for awhile you might as well know where you are going."

            "I guess you are right, although, I don't plan to stay here any longer then I have to."

            "Why? I know you will like it here if you get the chance to see what it is like."

            "Because, I have a home and a family that are probably worried sick about me. I also have specific obligations to fulfill."

            "Oh," said Lianne, with a sad look.

            "But, I know that I will be here for awhile."

            "Yes." Lianne's face brightened with the thought. "Here is your room."

            She stopped at a wooden door with a lamp that hung beside it. Jen's bags had already been piled against the wall. She reached for the door knob. _This will be my new home for awhile. Well, here goes. She twisted the knob and pushed._

*****

The room was comfortably furnished, but had some pieces that were brass with jewels encrusting it, and with silk. Her bed was one of those types of pieces. She had her own private balcony that overlooked the gardens, which to her delight, where so beautifully decorated and had appealing scents.  "It's wonderful," Jen whispered.

"I am glad you like it," exclaimed Lianne. "My room is just up the hall and around the corner. Do you need any help with your bags?"

"I think I can handle it, thank you." Jen began bringing her bags inside and started unpacking. Lianne knelt beside her to help. For awhile they just unpacked in silence until everything was put away. Then Jen had a seat on her bed, Lianne next to her. 

"What's it like? Your home?" asked Lianne.

"Oh, it is hard to explain. I love it dearly and it is the only home that I have ever known." Replied Jen wistfully. "Maybe some pictures would better explain." Jen reached down into one of her remaining bags and pulled out a big book. "This is my scrapbook. I put all of my pictures in here and decorate it." She opened the first page which showed a picture of her family and house. "This is where I live and this is my father, Mike, and Lisa."

"Who's Lisa? Your mother?" asked Lianne.

"No. My mother died when I was 10. My father remarried when I was 14. She is really nice and just like a mother to me."

"How did your mother die?"

"She had cancer, a kind of disease that spread into her whole entire body."

"Oh, I am so sorry."

"I am to." Jen pointed to another picture and explained, "These are my 2 best friends, Maggie and Kristen. We were at the pool when I took this." 

Lianne nodded her head and flipped through the book, eyes filled with awe. "You live in a world with such beautiful people!" she exclaimed.

"Not all are so beautiful. We have wars and enemy countries just like you."

"Yes, of course," said Lianne sadly, as she shut the book.

"Well, you have learned so much about where I live, tell me about Tortall," inquired Jen.

"You probably should know that some of us have the ability to do magic."

"Magic, wow!" 

"Yes. My father will probably look to try to bring you back home through magic."

"Do you have magic?"

"Yes and so did everyone you met in the throne room."

"What about the whatsit Jewel?"

"Oh, the Dominion Jewel was brought back from the high mountains by Alanna for the glory of Tortall. It can help save our country but, if put in the wrong hands, can also destroy it."

"Ouch!" exclaimed Jen.

"Yes it is quite scary." Lianne said. "My brothers were Roald, who is 24, Liam, who is 18, and Jasson who is 16. I am 15 and my sister in law, Shinkokami, is 22. She is pregnant with Roald's child, the next prince or princess."

"So what does everyone do?"

"Well, Roald is a knight and will be king in three years, Liam studies Shang, a combat art with or without weapons, Jasson studies sorcery, and I am going to become one of the Queens commanding Riders."

"Wow! You all have great plans for your life." _I wish I had one._

"Tonight we have a banquet for the Mid-Winter Festival, if you would like to come. The festival is tomorrow though."

"I would love to!"

"Great. We can also present you formally to court."

"Court?"

"Yes, the nobles."

"Will I have to make a public speech?"

Lianne laughed, "No! All you will have to do is walk down the Queen's staircase."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I can stand with you before you go down if you don't mind."

"Of course not, it is better to have a friend standing with you then a complete stranger!"  
            "I am your friend?"

"I would like you to be."

"Me too."

"Great! But I have nothing to wear."  
            Lianne grabbed Jen's hand and pulled her to the doorway, "Well then, off to the seamstress!"

They both ran out the door laughing. 

*****

            Lianne and Jen raced down the corridor and down some steps into a bright room with many colored cloths in it. There was an old woman with graying hair on her hands and knees sewing a bright red gown with a beautiful gold hem. The dress was on, what looked like, a straw manikin of a woman. It was long and flowing and the sleeves came much farther than the hands would go. It had a nice v-neck that was also trimmed in gold. Next to it, on another manikin, was a big flowing tunic in bright sparkling blue with matching breeches, except these breeches were big and flowing, like the shirt.

            "Oh, hello Lianne!" cried the old woman. "I was just putting a few touches on your mother's dress for tonight, as well as Lady Alanna's outfit. Did you come for yours? Who is your friend? Does she need a dress as well?" All of her questions came out one after the other without a breath in between. She was quite the talker.

            "This here is my friend Jen," said Lianne calmly, it was like she was used to answering this lady's ongoing questions, "and Jen, this is Lady Rubinstein, she is the seamstress here at the place."

            "Nice to meet you," said Jen casually.

            "The pleasure is mine." Lady Rubinstein said with a crooked, but warm smile.

            "We are here for dresses." Said Lianne.

            "Oh goody! I was hoping that you would stop by." Said Lady Rubinstein with excitement in her voice. "Now, I already have Lianne's measurements but I need yours, Jen. So just stand still while I get my tools."

            She was gone and back in less then a second. Then she measured Jen with a rope and knots in it. _This is the vintage way of measuring, _thought Jen. Within moments she was done.

            "Have you thought of any colors or designs? It has to be formal and I have a couple of dresses over here that you might want to take a look at. I don't have enough time to make you one personally." Replied Lady Rubenstein as she brought them over to a huge closet to look at. Inside were so many different dresses, Jen didn't know what to say. But at the back of the closet, she spotted a white, shier gown. She walked over and pulled it out. _It's beautiful! The gown was white and had silver sparkles along the hem, around the neck, and sleeves. It draped off the shoulders and had a huge, round neck that went very low. Also attached on the back, were two sparkling, bright wings. _

            "It's beautiful." Jen breathed.

            "That was made by a fairy and given to me as a gift on my 16th birthday." Said Lady Rubenstein dreamily. "The fairy that gave it to me said 'When you were this dress, you feel as if you can fly off anywhere you please.' It also had magic attached to it, fairy magic."

            "Oh well, if it is so precious to you then I will find something else," said Jen politely although there was a hint of sadness somewhere in her voice. 

            "No, no, no! You must wear it. It fits you perfectly. Plus, it is time I give it to someone else."

            "Oh, thank you!" cried Jen and she ran up to give the old woman the biggest hug she had ever received. 

            "What's all this about?" asked Lianne, holding a dress of her own that she found in the big closet. It was a beautiful royal blue, velvet.

            "I found a dress, that's all." Said Jen happily and then walked out of the closet. 

            Lady Rubenstein and Lianne exchanged odd looks and then walked out themselves. 

            "Well, now that you both found beautiful dresses, you must go to lunch!"

            Lianne and Jen smiled at the old woman and then left the seamstress and walked into the big hallway.

            Stopping back at their rooms, Jen asked Lianne "why didn't she say anything about my clothes or where I was from?"

            "She isn't one to nosey into other people's affairs. That's what I like about her. You can have a really bad day, go see her, and she will cheer you up without even asking why you were sad, which is such a relief!"

            "I wish I had someone like that at home!" cried Jen. "Where's lunch?"

            "In the mess hall."

            "Wow! Royalty and Nobles eat together."

            "With the Queen's Riders and the Kings Own as well!"

            "Who are the Riders and the Kings Own?"  
            "Our knights and our raiders on horses."

            "Ok." Jen said confused.

            "You will get to know them, don't worry."

            They walked down to the mess hall together. To Jen's surprise, it was like a school cafeteria. Unfortunately she had chosen the wrong attire. She wasn't wearing breeches or a dress, but a blue turtle neck sweater and jeans. Immediately when she walked in the door she received stares for this. _I just want to scream 'What are you looking at?!" But I have to hold my tongue. Jen thought. Lianne didn't even notice that her friend was getting weird stares from everybody and walked over to a table casually and sat down. Jen had no choice but to sit down next to her. A couple of Riders came up to them. "Lianne, who's your friend here?" one of them said, meanly._

            "Oh, this is Jen, she is from a different world." Said Lianne just as casually as she sat down. "Jen, I will be right back."

            "I can tell," another one of them said after Lianne left. "Because she sure looks like it." They all pointed their fingers and laughed at her like first graders.

            "I never knew babies could get into the Queen's Riders." Jen said and glared at them. "They need to be taught some manners."

            "Oh ya, well at least we don't look like weirdoes from planet Cyco!" the first one that spoke said.

            "Who said you didn't?" asked Jen, slyly.

            Lianne returned and the Riders left glaring. 

            "Some of those Riders really have bad attitudes!" said Jen.

            "Not all of them do, just that group."

            "So why did you leave me in the dust with them?"

            "You have to make your own way. I am not going to do it for you. It was how I learned how to deal with enemies. Plus, it looked like you dealt with them pretty well."

            "Will they be at the banquet tonight?"

            "Most of them will be."

            They at their soup and Jen was introduced to a lot nicer people. She made friends fast and liked everyone, except for that one Rider group. By the end of lunch, she didn't want to leave all of these nice people. But she new they had to be on their way. So she promised to hang with them at the banquet. She made lots of friends with the Riders as well as the noble girls. She didn't want to interfere with the big, attractive knights of the Kings Own. Lianne and Jen eventually left, but by that time they both were tired. They walked back to their rooms for a quick nap.

*****

            After a short nap, Jen got ready for her big debut. She put on her dress and put on some makeup that she brought in her bags. "No matter what they say, I am not using their face paint!" she told herself. Jen looked at herself in the mirror and thought _I wish Mother could see me like this. I look like a princess! But something is missing. _Jen looked down at her feet and saw all she had was her socks. "What am I going to do about shoes?" 

            There was a knock at the door and Jen opened it. It was Lianne all dressed up and ready to go. Her dark blue dress accented her beautifully pinned up hair and deep blue eyes. All of the royals had the black hair and attractive features. They were all good looking.  "Oh, you look great!" exclaimed Lianne when she saw Jen.

            "So do you! Wow, you look so much like the queen it is uncanny!" said Jen. "But something is missing. Wait I know!" Jen ran to her little jewelry box that she brought with her and took out a silver necklace with a star that she bought in Mexico. "Here, wear this." Jen said as she tied it around Lianne's neck.

            "It's beautiful, Jen!"

            "I am glad you like it. You can keep it."

            "No, I couldn't!"

            "Yes you can and you will!"

            "Oh, thank you!" Lianne ran up and gave Jen a big hug, but in spotting her missing shoes, she quickly disappeared back into her bedroom. _Now where did she go? Jen__ asked   herself as she walked back to the mirror. Lianne ran back into the bedroom, out of breath. "Here, I have something for you." Lianne handed Jen a pair of glass shoes with a big open heal, silver lining, and pearls. _

 "Now that I can not accept! It is worth a fortune! Knowing me I will probably trip or lose it."

"No you won't! They were given to me as a gift for my 14th birthday. They could never fit me because my feet are too big. They can surely fit you though and it matches your dress! Please take it." Lianne pleaded.

Jen gently took the delicate slippers and put them on her feet. Lianne was right, it was a perfect fit. Jen smiled with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she croaked. They hugged each other tightly until they both stopped crying. 

"Now what is going on in here?" King Jonathon had stepped in the doorway of her room. Jen and Lianne quickly turned to him. "My, my, my; what beautiful angels have walked in here."

"Father, please." Lianne whined.

"Ok, just let me talk to Jen alone for a few moments."

Lianne left the room quietly and King Jonathon stepped in. "You look almost as pretty as my wife."

"Ya right, I couldn't even compare to that Barbie doll." Realizing what she said she clamped a hand over her mouth. Jonathon took her small hands in his big ones. "Listen" he said. "I want you to know that I am trying my hardest to send you back to your planet. I haven't found a way yet, but tonight I am going to ask the help of some powerful mages in my kingdom."

"Mages, sir?"

"Powerful people with magic, but I think it would help if you told me more about your planet and where you live."

"I think you are right."

"Good, so when you walk down the staircase and we present you formally to court, then I will talk to some mages while you dance and have fun. We will then put together a little meeting dates so you can tell us more about yourself."

"Ok."

"But, don't get overwhelmed if some mages come and talk to you consistently. You are a very different person from us."

"I understand."

"Good. That's that. Well, I will leave you and Lianne alone to finish getting ready. Remember, this is your home too so have fun and don't let others tell you what to do. Except me, of course." They both laughed and then the Jon left. Lianne returned. Jen related what they had said to her. She laughed as it blew right over her. They both got ready for the banquet.

*****

"Oh, I am so nervous." Jen told Lianne as they waited outside the big doors into the Queen's ballroom. Jen had her hair all tied up in a bun with curls sticking out. 

"Just relax, you will be fine. All you are doing is walking." Lianne commented. 

"Walking can be very dangerous you know." Jen said seriously. Lianne laughed so hard that tears came into her eyes. Jen was not thrilled. In the distance, trumpets sounded.

"Well I have to go. You will be fine, I promise!" Lianne said. Then she left. Jen was all alone wallowing in her own nerves. A man in a bright tunic and breeches came over to her and escorted her to the big doors. They opened and the man let go of her arm. Jen waltzed out into the light of the ballroom as a man yelled her name. "Jennifer Cromwell of the unknown planet Earth from America. King Jonathon and Queen Thyat of Conte's royal guest!" 

Jen walked down the staircase and up to the King and Queen. She bowed and then, to their surprise, ran to Lianne. "I did it, I really did it!" she said excitedly. 

"I know you did and you did great! Did you see all of those boys looking at you?" Lianne pointed to a group of good looking boys that were staring at her with awe. "They are probably only looking at me because I am not from around here."

"No, they are drunk with love."

"Oh, shut up. I am not attractive!" Jen said as they walked over to the wonderfully smelling buffet. "Mmm, this looks…"

"Fire, fire in the west tower! Everybody out!" someone yelled from the crowd. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

            Everyone stopped suddenly. It was like no one knew what to do! The king just stood there talking with the man that had issued the emergency. "Why aren't we going?" Jen whispered to Lianne furiously. 

            "The King has to issue everyone to leave. It is not polite to leave without his consent." Lianne said.

            Jen had gone through enough fire drills to know that if these people didn't get out soon then they would all be doomed. Jen could also smell smoke. _Something has to be done and fast! "Alright, listen up everybody!" Jen yelled. "We are going to form lines out of this place and do it in an orderly fashion. Everybody is going to get out don't worry. Help anybody and everybody that needs help!"  Everyone just stared at her including the King. "Do you want to die or get out? Get moving!" Jen yelled furiously. _

            Everyone ran to the entrance at once. "Hey! I said lines people! And no talking! This is a life or death situation." Yelled Jen again and to her surprise, people listened. Within moments, they had almost everyone out, which was good. The fire had spread into the ballroom. Jen, the royal family, the knights, and the Riders stayed behind helping the last of people out. 

            "You better go your majesties and you Jen too." Alanna said hurriedly. "We'll try to see if we can put this thing out." 

            "Be careful." Said Thyat. 

            "We will." Cried Alanna over the flames for the fire had spread and was tearing down the ballroom. 

            "Oh wait, I think I have something that might help!" cried Jen and rushed to the door on the opposite side of the Queen's ballroom. 

            "Jen, come back!" they all cried, but it was no use.

            Lisa had packed Jen a hose connected to a tank of water if she happens to be without a shower. This tank was pretty big too. It had been a pain to lug it all the way to Mexico but she did it and now it would finally come into use. Her father was a man that made very weird inventions and this was one of them. Plus she would get out and in, in no time because the fire hadn't spread this way yet, or so she thought. To her surprise she began to smell the smoke coming. Without hesitation she dropped to the floor and crawled as fast as she could, into her bedroom. She got the tank and headed out the door. There was fire now. 

            "Time to try this thing out." Cried Jen. She sprayed and sprayed until she could get past the fire for only a little bit was left. Jen walked on, chocking on the smoke and fumes. She then hit the ground again and crawled. In the distance she heard someone crying and another person yelling. It was farther down the hallway then she would like to have gone but it was for someone else's life. She passed the door to the Queen's ballroom and headed for the direction of the screams. 

            She found that a mother and her baby were trapped inside of a room. She sprayed and sprayed until she could safely get in. "I am here to help you just stay calm." She yelled. "Where are you?" Her voice was drowned by the sound of crashing. She had entered the kitchen. Jen stepped inside and looked all around. Crouched in the corner was a woman holding a baby and they were surrounded by flames. So was Jen. Jen fought the flames with the spray and got to the woman and baby. She took the liberty of comforting them before they were on their way back to the Queen's ballroom. She could hear her name being called by someone.

            Jen also was holding the baby as its mother fought to control herself. They were all crouched down, crawling to the ballroom. Something overhead fell behind them and the same in front of them. The ceiling was falling! Jen hurriedly sprayed the fire in front until it was out. This time they could barley breathe. They carefully crawled over the hot piece of wood and entered the door of the ballroom. Jen gave the baby back to the lady and showed them the way to the door.

            Then she went to Alanna with the spray thing. "Here, it will help." Jen said.

            "Thank you but you had us worried. You better get outside." Alanna yelled. 

            Something in the corner of Jen's eye caught her. Jasson the Prince was fighting the fire but the ceiling over head was falling. "Move!" screamed Jen with all of her might but she still couldn't be heard. Jen ran as fast as she could and pushed Jasson out of the way. They both hit solid ground, Jen blacked out.

*****

            Jen woke up all alone. She was in her bedroom in the castle. She could smell distant smoke and saw that some of the furniture in her room was scorched. She sat up stiffly and got herself out of bed. She found was still in her ball gown when she looked in the mirror, except it was sweat soaked and had smoke stains. Her face was covered in dust and ashes. A glass slipper was in the corner of the room, but where was the other one? Jen had a pretty good idea where it was,_ probably burnt to ashes, she thought._

            "This beautiful gown is ruined!" Jen cried feeling tears in her eyes, "As well as my new shoes and me!"  Just as Jen said that, her gown began to clean itself. All the wrinkles began to unfold, all the charred places good as new, and all the dust and dirt slipped off. "Lady Rubenstein must have been right in saying that this gown was attached by magic," Jen told herself. 

            A maid came in and stopped when she saw Jen standing by her mirror. She ran out before Jen could say anything to her. A moment later her room was erupted with noise and people. The King, Queen, Lianne, Roald, Jasson, Shinkokami, Alanna, and many of her friends that she met in the mess hall appeared, covering her in a mass of big hugs. Jen felt as if she was about to faint for these people all surrounded her. "Now what are you people doing? This poor girl has been asleep for a day and you jump on her the moment she wakes up! Everybody out now until Jen says she can accept visitors!" Lady Rubenstein had arrived and did not hesitate to scold even the royals.

            People left and fast because you didn't want to mess with Lady Rubenstein when she was mad! After everyone had left Lady Rubenstein came in and helped Jen lay on her bed. "Thank you." Jen whispered, "I think I was about to faint."

            "They are so inconsiderate sometimes. Even a hero needs air!" Lady Rubenstein said.

            "I am no hero."

            "You saved the Prince, that servant girl and her child, everyone at the banquet, as well as the castle. That is pretty heroic. You were risking your life by doing that."

            "I have been out for a day?"

            "Yes. You should probably hear the whole story. After you saved the Prince, you blacked out. We took you outside until the fire was completely out. That contraption of yours worked well. Then, after airing out the castle, you were brought to your room. You have had many visitors; everybody wants to see the 'girl with wings' who saved us all. "

            "I probably look like a mess! The dress, it cleaned itself."

            "I can see that." 

            Jen looked down at the dress. It looked as if it was completely new. "Lady Rubenstein, do you know what happened to my other slipper?"

            "I think you will find out later. Oh, I see you have a visitor."

            Jen looked up into the handsome face of Jasson, the prince whom she saved. Lady Rubenstein left with a wink at him. Jen propped herself up on her pillows. Jasson walked up and in his hand was the other slipper. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, his voice very attractive and deep.

            "Yes, I think so." Jen replied. Jasson stopped before the bed and knelt down on one knee.

            "Lady Jennifer Cromwell, I thank you for saving my life and the life of thousands of others. I could never repay you enough so I am in your debt. Please accept this glass slipper that I present to you as a token of my appreciation. I cleaned and polished it because I new it meant a lot to you."

            Jen took the slipper that was handed to her. That, like her dress, looked as good as new. She put the shoe down on the bed and grabbed Jasson's hands in hers. She lifted him up off the floor. "A thank you would have been fine." Jen said with a smile. "And you don't have to be in my debt." He smiled gratefully at her and they both laughed together. 

            "Oh Jen, I was so worried!" Lianne had run into the room and broke the two of them up with a great big hug. Jen could feel Lianne's tears on her face and neck. She pulled her back.

            "You should have known that I would have been fine. There is no need to cry." Jen said with a sigh and then pulled Lianne back into a hug. The King, Queen, and Alanna joined them. 

            "You saved us and the castle with the bravery of going to your room and getting that little contraption." Alanna had said. Then she gave Jen a hug. Queen Thyat followed. "You saved my son and for that I thank you." Next King Jonathon "You took the liberty of helping my people get out of the castle safely as well as saving my son and my castle. Thank you very much." He offered her his hand but Jen jumped up and gave him a hug. 

            "With all do respect sir, I just had to do something while you talked with that man who issued the emergency or all of those people, including us, would have been dead." Jen told the King. 

            "Thank you," replied the King back.

            "Now, if you don't mind, I think I need to clean myself up." They all looked at her ashen face and hands and did not hesitate to call the maid to get things ready. They stayed with her awhile and talked of things that had happened until the bath was ready. They all left her alone to bathe. 

*****

            There was a knock on the door to Jen's room. Jen was fumbling around with her hairdryer, wishing that it would work. "Come in!" yelled Jen from the bathroom. 

            "It's me, Lianne and I brought someone." Lianne said.

            "Great! Um, I'll be out in a second." Yelled Jen back. Moments later she came out of the bathroom with her hair combed nicely into a pony tail and jeans with a pink peasant top on. "Hey Lianne and Princess Shinkokwhatsit?"

            "Shinkokami." Replied the Yamani princess. 

            "Is it ok if I called you Shi?(*Shy) I don't think I can keep on saying Shinkokami without getting my tongue twisted."

            "That's fine." Shi's face was stone without any emotion.

            "No offense Shi, but it looks like you got Botox. Lighten up!" Jen said.

            "What's Botox?" asked Lianne.

            "It is medicine that they inject into you to stop getting wrinkles. It makes your muscles stop moving so you can show no emotion." Replied Jen.

            "In Yamani it is not polite to show your emotions on your face." Said Shi.

            "I am sorry if I offended you or your culture in any way." Said Jen.

            "No." replied Shi.

            "Enough of this chit chat. Jen, we have a something to show you down at Lady Rubenstein's."

            "Sweet! Let's go!" cried Jen.

            They all rushed into the hall. Lianne was so excited that she ran ahead leaving Shi and Jen alone.

            "So are you excited about the baby?" asked Jen.

            "Yes and no." replied Shi.

            "Why is that?"

            "Because I am afraid that I am not ready for children." Shi's voice had a sweet, musical tone to it.

            "Well then why did you get yourself one?"

            "My first duty to the kingdom and Roald is to produce an heir."

            "Ah. Well then why did you marry him in the first place?"

            "I had to."

            "It was fixed?" inquired Jen.

            "Yes." There was a pause in Shi's voice before she continued. "I love Roald and he loves me, I think, but we barely got a chance to know each other before we had to marry."

            "We stopped arranging marriages for that reason a long time ago. There was no love in the relationship and that was the person that you would spend your whole life with. Now things are different. People choose who they marry but a lot of them split up. It's sad."

            "People stop their marriage. They split up and never see each other again?"

            "Yes. And this is after they stopped arranging marriages."

            "Wow. In our lands a woman depends on her husband for food, money, to live."

            "In America women work and do the exact same thing as their husbands. They both bring home the money."

            "That's wonderful. More and more women want to be just as good as the men here. Soon our world may be like yours someday."

            "Are you coming or not?" yelled Lianne.

            "Coming." Yelled Jen back.

            "She looks up to you." Said Shi, quietly. "Her sister, Kalaslin, is away with Kaddar and they never see each other. She has never had any real friends either."

            "That's so sad."

            "I know. I try to help her but I have to prepare for the baby and all. I am in no shape to keep up with all of the things she likes to do." They had reached Lady Rubenstein's room and were stepping inside when Lady Rubenstein stepped out and gave them each a warm hug.  "Good to see you girls. I just got some fabric from Lalasa's shop. She is more than busy these days with all of the nobles that want dresses."

            "Who is Lalasa?" asked Jen.

            "Oh, Lalasa, bless her heart, owns the most famous dress making shop in all of Tortall. She is a dear friend of mine and we help each other out." Replied Lady Rubenstein. "Well, I have something for you Jen. Come with me." They all followed Lady Rubenstein to the back of her shop where a trunk lay. She opened it up and pulled out three beautiful dresses. One was silvery blue with a purple petticoat and lace. The second was canary yellow with yellow buds and green leaves around the hem, with a white petticoat. The last was a rich red with gold lacing and ivory petticoat. 

            "They are so beautiful. When did you find the time to make these?"

            "Oh, honey! These are just dresses that I had in the closet. With little additions in the latest styles, I had it done in no time." Jen stared at Lady Rubenstein and then swept her up in the biggest hug she could give.

            "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Jen finally let go.

            "These are for the last three nights of the Midwinter Festival."

            "Three? But I thought that it lasted a week." Inquired Jen.

            "You have been asleep for the last three days, you know." Said Lianne.

            "Wow! That's the longest I have ever slept."

            Everyone laughed and Lianne and Shi exchanged looks at each others dresses for the festival. Finally Shi announced that she had to go meet Roald and Lianne offered to take Jen on a ride through the grounds. They said goodbye and left.

*****

            Lianne and Jen went to the stable. Lianne already had two horses of her own. They were just perfect for her size and looked like the best quality. "Riders always have two horses." Lianne said. She introduced Jen to a white horse with brown spots called Patch and to a brown mare with a white star on it's forehead called Fidget. Lianne offered to ride Fidget and Jen said that she would ride Patch. Jen confessed that the only time she had ridden a horse was on her way to the palace and that was a bad experience. Lianne laughed and agreed that she would teach Jen how to ride.

            They saddled up and did some routines in the field for an hour to get Jen used to the horse and the horse used to her. It was also to teach Jen the basics of riding. They eventually left and explored around. Jen saw the training fields were the knights, squires, and pages practiced. She saw the forests and stables as well as the temples to the gods. Jen and Lianne unsaddled their horses and walked into the temple of the Great goddess. Inside there was a statue of her and one alter surrounded by flowers. "Have people actually seen her?" inquired Jen.

            "Oh yes, many." Said Lianne.

            "Wow Ms. Pierce. You play these people up good." Jen whispered to herself. Jen walked over to the alter and on it was a medallion with a symbol on it. "What is this for?" asked Jen to Lianne. 

            "It is the symbol of the goddess." Replied Lianne. The symbol was a crown of roses over a red heart. Jen was intrigued. She took out a pen and drew the symbol on the inside part of her arm so she could remember it. They eventually left the temple after Lianne told her the stories of people like Alanna the Lioness and Daine the Wild Mage seeing the Mother goddess.

            They rode back to the castle to get ready for the dinner that night. Jen stopped by Lady Rubenstein's to pick up her blue and purple dress. She put it on and let her hair half way down. She crimped the upper part so it looked curly. She added her silver hoop earrings and her silver cross necklace. _Lord, I am going to need all the help I can get. She slipped on her crystal slippers and was all ready. Lianne walked in with her gold gown which made her look like an angel walking on the ground. They exchanged their laughs and helped each other finish. "What's that cross around your neck?" inquired Lianne._

            "It is the symbol of my God."

            "Really? Have people seen your God?"

            "They saw his son. His son became human to teach people about God, his father."

            "That's neat. Our gods don't become humans."

            They walked into the hall and out to the mess hall. Jen stared around her. The hall had changed tremendously. It looked like one big Christmas decoration. Lianne led Jen over to the table where all of the royals sat. Jen smiled and waved at Shi. They sat down at the end of the table. Jen noticed a lot of people staring at her. _What? Do I really stand out that much? _Lianne saw Jen looking around. "Don't worry. They will get used to sitting in the same room as you." Jen smiled at Lianne.

            Shi inquired about the cross. Jen explained to her about her God. When she was done, she found her whole table was listening, including the squire boy that was supposed to be serving them. Jen blushed red and sank back into her chair. The boy served them and stopped in front of Jen. Jen took her food. The boy still stood there staring at her. Jen cleared her throat to give the boy a hint to go. He did. The rest of the dinner went by in kind of a blur. Nobles came over to greet the King and Queen and went to meet her. They all asked thousands of questions. Jen barely had enough time to eat. 

            The tables cleared and the music began to start up. Jen had heard music similar to this. It almost put her to sleep. Lianne and Jen were getting punch when a handsome, noble boy, who introduced himself as Vincent, asked Lianne to dance. Lianne looked back at Jen but Jen gave her a push to make her go. Jen smiled to herself and then envied Lianne. Nobody had asked her to dance, _although I probably wouldn't have been good at it._ Just as she thought that Prince Roald came up. "Would you like to dance?"

            "Sure." Jen said truthfully. "But I might not be good at it."  They danced around the room for the rest of the song talking about his coronation of becoming King. Jen could see how nervous he was. The song ended. "Thank you and I know that you will make a great king." Prince Roald smiled, bowed and then walked back to Shi. Next came Prince Jasson and then the King himself. She took her turn dancing with nobles and knights, all of them were interested in her and where she came from. She had a great time. 

With the night almost over, Lianne and Jen went outside to look at the stars. Jen explained to Lianne all of the constellations. Jen realized that this was the same starry sky as back home. This brought a tear to Jen's eye.

"See the big dipper and Orion's belt." Jen pointed to the sky.

"I wish Liam was here." Said Lianne, sadly. "He would have loved to hear you teach him about the stars and their stories."

"Where do you think he is right now?"

"Well, the Shangs don't like to stay in one place a lot. So, I am not sure."

They walked back inside and to their rooms. "Tomorrow is the day that we give presents to one another." Lianne told Jen.

"Great." Jen said sarcastically, "I don't have a lot of stuff to give."

"Well, you can count the necklace you gave me as mine and I will count the slippers."

"What about Shi and Lady Rubenstein?" 

"You'll think of something. Good night." Lianne walked to her room.

Jen looked through her bags as to what she could give these people. Jen pulled out some Mexican fabric that she had gotten for her mother. There was a lot so Jen only took half to give to Lady Rubenstein. Jen thought that she could give Shi some of her butterfly clips. She pulled those out. She was going to give her box of Ester Price chocolates to their highnesses. _That should be good._ Jen stood up and looked into the mirror. She looked gorgeous with her dress on. It hung off her shoulders a bit and her hair looked still intact. _God bless hair spray. _Suddenly a bag went over her head as she struggled to free herself from the strong hands that held her. Something hit her head and she blacked out.


End file.
